In One Heartbeat
by LovelyFarron
Summary: It was amazing what could happen in one heartbeat. People could die, people could be born; people could be married, people could be divorced. People could achieve their dreams or people could watch all their hopes crash and burn.


Anime/manga: Bleach

Pairing: Ichigo/Rukia

Genre: Romance, angst

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: Just a quick IchiRuki oneshot. This is based on those three pages in Ch. 477. I know that there is an argument out there about who jumped in front of Ichigo—Rukia or Riruka. In my opinion, not that it really matters or anything, it was Rukia that initially jumped and Riruka decided to take the hit for her (more for Ichigo's sake though, I don't think she really cared about Rukia haha). The reason I say this is because there is no indication that Riruka can control someone liked that when she's tucked away inside them and because Rukia looked cognitive in that one panel as opposed to when Riruka popped out a few seconds later. Also, we both know that Rukia would sacrifice herself like that for Ichigo already so I don't think it's uncharacteristic for her to do something like that. As for why she didn't draw her sword…I don't think she had time and was moving on instinct.

That said, it doesn't matter who did it because both girls would have given up their lives for him, something that we know to be fact. I love them both and they both love Ichigo so it's all good! ^^

In One Heartbeat

It was amazing what could happen in one heartbeat. People could die, people could be born; people could be married, people could be divorced. People could achieve their dreams or people could watch all their hopes crash and burn. People could start to laugh at some comedic event or people could start to cry at some great tragedy. In short, there were an infinite number of things that could happen, numerous possibilities and fates and destines that could unwind or be made. One heartbeat was enough to change the world, for better or worse. One heartbeat could decide everything.

And right now Ichigo Kurosaki was a heartbeat away from losing everything that mattered most to him.

Granted, he had his powers back and that was what he had believed would make him whole and complete once more, but now, _now_ that _that_ was happening…he realized what it was that was the center of his life, what was more precious to him than being a shinigami and having powers. He realized why he had been fighting so hard to regain what he had lost, not just so he could protect but so he could see, feel, touch, and smell _her_ once again. He wanted to protect her, wanted to repay her, wanted to be with the only person that seemed to understand his heart completely and could always say the right words at the right time and sometimes even not say things when they didn't need to be said.

Sadly…he had realized it all too late. And now he was going to pay for his mistake.

He had felt the marvelous of his attacker just mere milliseconds prior to that moment, his instincts making him react and turn around to face the threat. Unfortunately, after months and months of being out of practice, his instincts and reactions had dulled quite a bit and while they were sufficient for fighting random thugs in the streets, they were not quite back up to the point where he could protect himself from a surprise attack. In short, he was too _slow_.

His expression had gone from surprise to something like anger as his amber eye catches the dead, desperate look on Tsukishima's face. It was a last attempt at killing him, a foolish and reckless attack that was born of hate and anger and every single negative emotion that there had ever been. It was an attack that was meant to kill him, not maim or hurt him, but _kill_ him. And perhaps if Ichigo had been up to full fighting capacity he could have blocked the attack or simply moved out of the way, but as it was he was not at full fighting capacity. And he was going to die because it. Or at least…he had been.

With a blur of black and the smell of something like strawberries, something had flown past him, his body half-turned around with his back totally exposed and open for someone to drive a sword through. It had taken a millisecond for his eyes and spiritual powers to register what he saw behind him, but even before they had his heart had known the smell and the feeling that had emanated from the black blur and had been able to figure out who his protector was.

_Rukia_.

One heartbeat.

That was all it took for time to slow down.

One heartbeat.

That was all it took for everything he'd ever felt for her in his life to come pouring fourth from somewhere deep inside his soul and twist his gut and make him squirm in anguish.

One heartbeat.

That was all it took for every single memory of his time he had with her to come flooding back. Like some movie on fast forward, he remembered their first meeting, the moustache she had drawn on his face, her sacrificing herself to save him, training him, understanding him, supporting him, saving him again, him saving her, losing her almost, leaving her, reuniting with her. Every single thing they'd ever done together, every single battle, every single break, every single thing…it had all come rushing back to him.

One heartbeat.

That was all it took for visions of the future, his future with _her_, vision that he hadn't even known that he had, to spring up and fill him with joy and sorrow at the same time. Joy for the thought of them happening and sorrow at the realization that they would never be because he was weak and pathetic and unable to protect her. He wouldn't be by her side, wouldn't be able to watch her as she progressed throughout her life, wouldn't be able to watch her achieve bankai, wouldn't be able to watch her grow in her confidence and abilities. He wouldn't be able to discover the depth of what he felt for her, wouldn't be able to watch little deathberries run around with brilliant orange hair and smooth, midnight black. He wouldn't be able to see warm amber eyes that held her compassion and he wouldn't be able to see striking violet-black that reflected his determination.

One heartbeat.

That was all it took for him to realize how precious she was to him and how he just couldn't live with himself if something happened to her. She was the reason the rain had left, she was the reason he had ever gotten powers in the first place. She was the reason for so many things in his life, the inspiration that had kept him going and picked him up when he was down. She was the moon to his sun, reflecting back his own warmth and grudging kindness and reminding him of who and what he was. He was no knight in shining armor, he was no special god or king or anything like that; he was simply a man with potential and powers, a man that was gifted and loved and had a heart of gold. She reminded him that he was human and that it was ok for him to screw up on occasion and that she was always there to hit him stand back up when he fell.

One heartbeat.

That was all it took for every single fiber of his being to freeze up in horror, for his own heart to stop suddenly and refuse to keep going should hers suddenly stop. His mind was racing, his heart was unmoving, and he was screaming silently _"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!"_ His face was a combination of terror and fear and despair and desperation. This couldn't be happening, it couldn't. He couldn't lose her like that, not then, not _ever_. No. No. No. No.

One heartbeat.

That was all it took for him to be pushed to the brink of insanity, mere millimeters from falling in the icy waters of lunacy. He was the protector, the strong one, the one who saved others not just for their own sakes but for his own as well because he hated letting people down, even if they were complete strangers. He hated being weak, he hated watching people suffer as he once had. He wanted to chase away all tears, wanted to brush away all the stormy clouds. He wanted to do the impossible and sometimes drove himself mad with the thought. And the only person who could calm him, who could stop his torment was about to be stripped from his side once again, although this time it would be forever, and all because he was weak, weak and pathetic and there was nothing he could do but watch and scream and wait and die and—

-and watch the impossible happen.

One heartbeat.

That was all it took for her to be saved.

One heartbeat.

That was all it took for her future to be saved.

One heartbeat.

That was all it took for his sanity to be restored.

One heartbeat.

That was all it took for him to realize that he had been given another chance at a life with her.


End file.
